Chapter 66: Secret behind the tunnels

Chapter 66: Secret behind the tunnels Hours later, the crackling sound of flames was the only thing heard in the dimly lit cave. The flames would have gone off by now if not for the fact it was protected by Cedric’s flames. His black flames danced with the bright embers of the fire. Abrielle slowly woke up, but her entire body felt like it was squashed by a heavyweight, and she felt a bit sore in between her legs. She popped out at the realization, as she slowly remembered what happened last night. Her face went pale, realizing, remembering how she easily gave in to him. He was the devil; her eyes were drawn to the fire, where she saw Cedric sitting opposite the flame, leaning against the walls. He had his trousers back on and his jacket was draped around his head. His eyes were zeroed in on the flames. "Good morning," she heard his voice softly say. She also realized that she had most of her clothes back on except for her shirt that was used to clean her wound last night with her jacket draped around her shoulders. "Good morning," she mumbled as the feeling of embarrassment crept into her mind, her hand clutching her jacket. "How are you feeling? We need to start moving to the surface. Your wounds Should be almost healed now." He mentioned as his gaze met hers. He had his mask back on; it made her realize contrary to what she thought before, his mask reduced his charms and was the best decision he took. Nothing would be more devastating than a villain with a gorgeous face. "Just a bit tired. Do you have any idea how we can get out of here?" She replied slowly, sitting up to Lean against the cave walls. "Rest up a bit then. We just have to find a way. I am certain you don’t want to be trapped here forever." A few minutes later, after Abrielle was well rested, they started on their task. Cedric didn’t mention a thing about the fact they consummated their marriage the previous night the entire time and was keen on finding a way out of the labyrinth. It was like there was an entire underground maze of tunnels under the forest. They came across some monster on their way but Cedric quickly got rid of them. He led the way while she was safely following from behind his frame, which was traced by the dim light of the torch. Abrielle’s eyes sparkled when they saw faint light up ahead with the sound of crashing water, signifying they were close to the surface. "We are close," she excitedly chimed, but Cedric had a frown on his brow. Her expression dulled, wondering if something was wrong. Cedric put off the flame and then held her hand as he cautiously made his way towards the lights. The tunnel they were in led to a large cave that seemed to be illuminated by bright lights. He turned, leaning close to the wall and peeked over from the tunnel to the opening. His intuition was right, there were a couple of hooded figures who had their face covered entering an opposite tunnel from the bright cave. Abrielle tried to look over but quickly looked away after spotting the hooded figures. The sorcerers were travelling through the tunnel. She had questions in her mind but didn’t voice them. It was best to wait for Cedric’s signal before continuing. Cedric patiently waited for the group to move away. He could already deduce that these tunnels, as he suspected, did run throughout the tunnels and even went farther. Luckily, none of the other party spotted them, and Cedric gave the signal to leave. The opening was a cave behind a waterfall. The water formed a curtain covering the cave; they finally found their exit. The cave was very noisy due to the waterfall, Abrielle could already imagine the chaos outside. "We should leave," Cedric prompted her; Abrielle nodded, and then they headed for the waterfall; the cave floor was covered with snow and colder than the tunnels. Abrielle was already shivering from the cold, and she still had to cross the waterfall. Her grip on Cedric’s hand tightened before they walked through the waterfall leading to a river that was still flowing in the winter. The wind howled and was freezing; with Cedric’s help, they were able to swim to the river banks. The sky was covered with heavy clouds and the forest seemed to be quiet. They were in the green zone which wasn’t far from the camp. "They used the tunnels to appear all over the forest," Cedric stated, the one they had gotten in was a red zone, which was miles away from here. "We should continue in the direction of the camp. Maybe we would run into a search party," Abrielle suggested, trying to move in the piles of snow. She was so freezing that she was certain she would catch a cold. "That is if they want us alive," Cedric scoffed, but she was sure there would at least be a search party unless it was assumed that they were already dead. Either way they continued walking towards the direction of the camp in wet clothes and the freezing weather, on the way they came across some bloody scenes and burnt landmarks from the chaos that happened last night There was a good chance of Cedric getting killed, and now one of her biggest fears was slowly coming true. From a far distance, there were sounds of horses running in the snow; Abrielle started screaming for help while running in the direction of the horses. "We are here!!!" "You should shout louder if you want them to hear you." Cedric chimed from the direction. He was truly insufferable but Abrielle was too motivated to survive to even listen to him. "At least I am doing something." She snapped, "but it doesn’t seem to be working." He retorted, drawing her attention back to the horsemen that seemed to be moving away. She ran further, "Please don’t go; Prince Cedric is here." She screamed trying to reach out to them. "Glad you know they would care less about you. Heiress of the Nightshade family." Her annoying husband just had to say. She glared at him and then turned back to making her SOS calls. She could barely move anywhere in the snow, Cedric just watched her struggle in the snow. Luckily the search team seemed to have heard them and came in their direction. "Your Highness, Are you alright?" The leader of the party rushed towards them. The search party was Cedric’s men being led by Elias.